Chapter 28
NUMBERS, DATES, AND OTHER FILTHY THINGS
JESSA
August twenty-seventh. Alice and Ori’s birthdays.
Ninety-four. The number of days she was with us before she disappeared.
May eleventh. The day Alice walked back into our lives.
Seventy-two. The number of freckles that sit between the plump endcaps of her smile.
June thirtieth. The day I kissed her for the first time.
I’ve always been fond of dates and numbers in the same way that I am not fond of the wishy-washy games people play with other’s emotions.
Numbers are what I strive to emulate: they are clear; they are consistent; they are predictable; and they are all the other synonyms for reliable that Harley can recite from the thesaurus he keeps on his bookshelf.
July fourth. The day I finally get to taste her.
My poor girl is hurting. She feels so deeply—a trait I admire, but I also know it’s the reason she’s in pain.
Caring leads to pain; they’re born of the same vows you make to another at the altar. To commit to love is to one day commit to grief.
I push open the door to my bedroom and guide Alice in with a hand on the small of her back. “Sit on the bed, Trouble.”
“Okay,” she whispers.
Gods, I relish the sound of her voice, all breathy and sweet.
Harley and I exchange a look—we’ve talked many times about how we’d share Alice. Sex is a large part of our lives, but tonight isn’t about sex. It’s about lessening the weight bearing down on her. It’s about making her forget her pain. It’s about giving her reprieve.
“Harley hasn’t touched you since the other day, has he?” I ask, tracing feather-light fingers across my sweet boy’s shoulders. Harley shivers, and I embrace the smirk that crawls onto my lips.
“No,” Alice says, shifting awkwardly on the edge of the bed.
“We’re going to change that,” I say, curling my arms around Harley’s middle and trailing them up his chest. “If you don’t like where this is going just say so, okay? Same as with the woods.”
Alice nods, and watches with rapt attention as my fingers pop the buttons of his shirt. One by one, I take my time undressing him for her. He’s not wearing an undershirt, which is unlike him, but maybe he hoped tonight would end like this, and decided not to bother with it.
My nails scrape over the skin I expose and Harley’s abdomen shudders as I reach the last button, flicking the shirt open. I trace over his ribs and play with the faint trial of hair leading past his belt.
I plant an open-mouthed kiss on his neck, then drag my lips up to his ear. “Look how she’s watching you melt for us.”
If he wasn’t already hard, he would be now. I palm his erection over his pants, and he sucks in a stuttered breath, arching into my touch.
The sound causes Alice’s thighs to press together; I don’t blame her for squirming. Harley’s responsiveness is erotic.
“Do you want to taste her?” I ask him, loud enough for Alice to hear.
Her shocked expression rises from the tent in his shorts to the hand I gently wrap around his throat.
Alice visibly gulps her arousal as I squeeze my claim into his pulse.
“Do you want him to eat you until you’re screaming his name, baby? ”
“Fuck,” she whispers.
“Yes, exactly.” I chuckle, releasing him. Gripping the cotton lapels, I slide his shirt off and push him towards the bed. “Do a good job and you’ll get a reward. No touching yourself until the end.”
Harley utters a curse, both in desire and frustration as he takes off his glasses, sets them on the nightstand, and kneels before Alice.
He knows the rules. Ladies come first.
“Yes, ma’am,” he says aloud, knowing I need his enthusiastic consent. He gazes up at Alice tenderly. Reverent hands run up her shins and stop at her inner thigh, where they finger the edge of her shorts. I find myself softening at the sight of the two of them.
“Is this okay?” he asks.
Alice nods. Her eyes flick to me quickly, and I raise a brow.
“Yes,” she says out loud, correcting her behavior before I have to say anything. “Can I kiss you first?”
“Of course,” Harley says, beaming up at her. Her hand runs over his jaw, tracing the sharp cut of it. “You can always kiss me. I encourage it.”
A giggle accompanies her smile as she leans down to claim his lips. It’s affectionate at first. Slow. Innocent. They savor the taste of each other.
I perch my ass on the edge of my dresser, enjoying the view. I’ll let them work each other up, and then I’ll swoop in and steal her pouty lips from Harley.
“Don’t forget you have a job to do, babe,” I teasingly scold him.
He doesn’t break their kiss to answer me, using his hands to reply instead. Her sweatshirt zipper slides down her chest; the garment is ripped off her arms and tossed into a dark corner of the room.
An urgency sizzles the air as Alice scoots closer to the edge of the bed, giving Harley better access to the rest of her clothes.
Next goes her shirt. Then her shorts. I don’t pay attention to where he flings either—we’ll find them in the morning. He leaves Alice in only a lacy black bra and simple blue cotton panties. The mismatched nature does nothing to lessen how sinful she looks.
Harley must agree, because his hands can’t get enough of her—they devour her curves, dig into her spreading thighs.
Their kissing intensifies. Alice takes a bruising grip of Harley’s hair, tilting his head back. A divine, wanton moan vibrates his throat as she plunders his mouth, tongues tangling, taking from him what she wants.
It gives me far too many ideas for the future.
I push off the dresser and crawl onto the bed. Alice doesn’t notice me sidling up to her, she’s too enthralled by Harley’s lips. My own meet the juncture of her shoulder and neck, a chaste peck that causes her to squeak and break their kiss.
I check in with Harley with a glance. His glazed expression sparkles with hunger. But he’s my good boy. He’ll wait.
I turn back to Alice.
Our noses brush as I lean in. One kiss to her cheek. One kiss to the corner of her mouth. Her hitching breath teases me, and an exhilarating moment passes where I watch her crystalline irises dilate. Lashes flutter shut in submission. She’s waiting for a real kiss. But she’s not getting it yet.
“You’re beautiful, all flushed and wanting,” I whisper, pressing my forehead to hers.
Her lids pop open. My nostrils flare, scenting her sudden burst of arousal. Sweet as sugar, it’s a call for more.
I answer it, never breaking our stare. Two fingers hook between Harley’s parted, puffy lips, pressing down on his tongue, and drag his face between Alice’s thighs. Harley groans against her core, and she gasps.
They’re both so fucking perfect.
Harley tongues her over the soaked cotton, and her tiny moans coat my lips as I tease my kisses on her jaw. Then the spot under her ear. My hand weaves gently through her curls and fists the root of her hair.
“Take off her underwear and eat in earnest,” I say, knowing the command will reach Harley. Alice shifts as he tugs them down her hips. Then, only to her, I whisper, “I’ve been dreaming about tasting you on him.”
“Jesus,” she moans.
I hum. “Close, but not quite.”
I release her hair and shift to better position myself, kneeling half to her side, half behind her, so she can lean her weight into me. The angle also gives me a much better view of Harley eating her gorgeous cunt.
“Try again,” I murmur in her ear. My palms slide across her stomach, and she shivers.
“Jessa,” she half-scolds, then moans as Harley swirls his tongue over her clit. “Fuck, Harley, that feels good.”
I chuckle, admiring his work. He’s a wonder with his tongue—I know from many, many personal experiences.
One of his long fingers dips into her core, then two, slowly pumping while his tongue flattens over her sensitive bud; it truly is magnificent, watching him pleasure her.
“He’s such a good boy, isn’t he, Alice?” I taunt, knowing he loves the praise. I resume nibbling on her neck, watching the hickeys form in real time; my teeth rip red roses from the pale expanse. “Talk him through it. He loves that.”
I tongue the deepening flush on her neck as she nods, filthy words dripping from her tongue like I’m sure her pussy is dripping all over his chin. Her fingers weave into Harley’s hair, and she physically pulls him closer to her core.
“More,” Alice rasps. “You lick me so well, but you can give me more. Yes, like that.”
Her tone is tentative, nervous, but grows more confident as Harley’s groan of approval hits our ears. It’s sweet music, a sensual lick of base setting the pace of Alice’s pleasure.
“Your fingers are perfect. I love the way they fill me up,” Alice continues. “Curl them. Fuck, yes. Exactly. You’re such a good listener.”
“Good girl,” I praise. “You’re a natural.”
Alice shudders—either from Harley licking her needy cunt as if it’s his last meal or from me licking a line up her jumping pulse. It thumps under my tongue, erratic. She’s getting close.
“Now focus on coming, okay?” I say.
I grab her chin and capture her lips. They’re puffy and slick, and they open for me without my tongue needing to ask for permission. Her moans vibrate against my teeth as I draw her bottom lip between them and bite. My free hand runs over her breast, rolling her nipple between my fingers.
Alice cries out, and I greedily swallow her ecstasy as she comes. I kiss her through it, until our lungs demand we break for air.
She glows with a freshly fucked daze that I commit to memory, gazing at me like I’ve hung the moon.
It’s dangerous. A girl could get addicted to that expression.
I reach for Harley and he meets me halfway, rising on his knees.
I latch onto his glistening mouth, licking into it in obscene fashion.
My smile bumps into his grin as our tongues tangle, and I lap the taste of Alice off him with a moan.
The perfect amount of sweetness and bite, her arousal is going to be added to the list of treats I crave late at night.
I release Harley and peck his nose.
“Good boy,” I say. “You can touch yourself now.”
“Thank fuck,” he says, letting out an exasperated sigh.
His hand dives into his pants and with no more than five quick strokes he comes. He deflates, flopping onto his back with a breathless chuckle.
“That was awesome,” he says, grin dopey and eyes shut.
“That… was the hottest thing I think I’ve ever done,” Alice murmurs, sinking back on her elbows in shock.
“That’s only the beginning of all the filthy things we can do,” I say, smug at the state of her kissed-raw lips.
How she can be shocked after uttering all that filthy praise to Harley is beyond me.
We quickly clean up and change into comfy pajamas, and once we’re all settled in bed, Alice uses Harley’s chest as a pillow, slotting under his arm as if she was meant to fit there. I spoon her from behind, arm draping over her waist and fingers lacing with Harley’s as we cuddle our girl to sleep.
“Next time, I want to taste you from the source,” I murmur, placing a languid kiss on the spot just below her ear. “I want to hear my name falling from those pretty lips when you come.”
“Okay,” Alice yawns, patting my arm that circles on her waist. “I don’t think that will be hard to make happen.”